This post is part of a series I'm trying to make regarding the Hornets offseason. The main post with more info here.
Ish Smith: Was traded in the Harrell deal, but was doing a serviceable job as a backup PG when his name was called. His high was probably two away games: against the Nets and the Nuggets, playing a major role in big comebacks during the second half.
Vernon Carey Jr.: A complete failure of a draft pick in 2021, spend the whole season again in the G-League until was involved as the second player in the Harrell deal. A guy that, as an undersized C, lacks speed and athleticism. Need to work on his body if he wants to be an NBA player one day.
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Isaiah Thomas: Fight his way back in the league after 10-day contracts with Lakers, Mavs and finally Hornets. After losing Ish Smith, Hornets were lacking a backup PG and were demanding Rozier to play more than he'd like as a PG. With Thomas, Hornets got a player able to get a bucket from the bench and a veteran that seemingly loved to support the young guys on the starting group.
It'll be a tough decision for the Hornets to keep him or not. While IT veteran presence and scoring make an impact, the fact that he's one of the worst defenders in the league in a team that will likely look to improve their defense going forward, maybe keeping Thomas as a rotation player will go against solving one of Hornets' main weaknesses.
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LaMelo Ball: The best decision the franchise has ever made. As discussed in the season review, LaMelo exceeded expectations again in his second year and joined an exclusive group of players. This season, it felt like the keys were given to him and he had the freedom to experiment with whatever he wanted. And rightfully so. His way of playing brings joy to every fan and he's eager to win every game. For some time, he flirted with a 50/40/90 season but wasn't able to sustain it with teams figuring the Hornets out and the team slumping after the Hayward injury.
For the future, he needs to improve his on-ball defense and gamble less on that end of the floor. On offense, his next level can be unlocked once he becomes able to control the game when the pace is slowed and the game is mainly on half-court sets playing against tough defenses. LaMelo is a capable scorer but doesn't seem to have a go-to move that he's an expert, maybe developing some kind of move that he can default to, no matter the situation, will improve his and the entire team's offense against elite defenses.
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James Bouknight: With the lack of playing time, it's hard to make something out of James' season. The team was trying to compete while having a terrible defense, and it was probably due to Bouknight aggravating this weakness that he lost space in the rotations to guys like Martin and Oubre.
He showed some flashes and had a series of games where he was looking better and better. Sadly, there was a reported crisis between him and Borrego in the middle of a blowout loss, where Bouknight wasn't given playing time. After that, his minutes went down again and when he was given a chance he injured his hand. For the remainder of the season, he spend his time on the end of the bench and in the G-League, where he showed flashes and was given the freedom to play as the primary ball handler at times.
His usage next year will definitely be one of the biggest question marks. Did the strategy of holding in for a season for internal development turn him into a more polished player and a key rotation player in year 2 or did it mean that James is still years away from contributing on the NBA floor?
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Terry Rozier: Turned into the full-time starting SG and delivered. He's an extremely good scorer on and off the ball and a deadly 3 pt shooter. His style enables Melo to improvise in a lot of his drives, Terry is always there to catch and shoot in various scenarios. All night had the duty to defend the best opposing guard, and even though undersized many times, always put decent enough effort. In the second half of the season, he had to play at PG for some minutes and the team looked a little lost with worse ball sharing and playmaking.
It's hard to speculate since there isn't any report from sources inside the organization, but the Hornets can look to trade Rozier this offseason. Looking to add cap flexibility, open minutes for young players or improve the defense of the team, the team may sacrifice Rozier's leadership to achieve goals that can help a long-term plan.
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Gordon Hayward: A great all-around player with the right mentality, perfect to make young guys flourish. Hayward accepted a smaller usage this year and was still vital to winning basketball. Probably the highest IQ on the team, Hayward uses the creation of others to cut or set and always be in a position where he's an alternative. Also, this year was deadly as a screener in sets with Lamelo, using his all-around game to create missed matches from short rolls. On defense, probably the most stable defender on the team. Not athletic, but smart and disciplined enough to stay with the play and don't get run over.
With another mid-season injury, it seems like Hayward will never be able to stay healthy. The team felt his loss, but an injury-prone veteran in over 30 mils per year might put Hayward on a bad-looking contract. Together with Rozier, Hayward is a big contract that can be moved in favor of going younger and more flexible money-wise.
Gordon himself and the coaching staff will also have a tough decision, what will be his role in a situation where he stays, and the team tries to increase the role of guys like Bouknight (who can take shots off Gordon), PJ, Thor, McDaniels and Martin?
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Jalen McDaniels: Great draft pick, McDaniels is slowly grinding his way to be a 3 and D forward. Played better on lower minutes this year, having a better shooting selection and keeping the ball alive instead of taking low percentage shots. Still, needs to improve overall awareness and cut silly mistakes.
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Cody Martin: Keeps improving and finding ways to get a bigger and bigger role on the team. Probably the closest thing we have from a guy that can defend from 1 to 3, and even small-ball 4 at times. With his ability to keep working on his game and energy on defense, he's a guy to keep around for the future of the team. We'll probably figure it out if his leap on 3pt% was the classic contract year wonder or if he stays on course to become a stable on the rotation and a guy that from time to time will be on closing lineups due to what he brings.
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Kelly Oubre Jr.: The worst and the best thing that could've happened to this team, Oubre brings an instant chance for the bench unit to turn the game around. When he's on, probably the second-best bench scorer in the league - just behind Herro.
However, as the number of games and losing struggles pile up, Oubre's flaws get exposed and can irritate any fan. He does have the tools to be a positive defender and a guy that can slash and draw contact/fouls, but instead, he gets too fixated with taking 3s and that affects how he plays the other parts of the game. On off nights, instead of using his above avg skill and athleticism, he gets blind-sighted and keeps shooting the team out of the game.
Considering he's an expiring on 23/24 offseason, the FO will need to have some foresight to decide on what's the role of Oubre in our future. If he's seen as a 6th/7th man (which I don't think he can be in an elite team), the team should keep him for the long run. If not, it should be in our best interest to capitalize on his high value currently and find a satisfactory trade for Charlotte long-term.
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JT Thor: Tough to judge with the lack of minutes, also wasn't used too much in the G-League. Showed flashes as a multi-position defender and a guy that can stretch the floor. Currently, his best outcome seems to be a player similar to Boucher. Next year, with even more fight for minutes, I expect Thor to be the one left out on the frontcourt rotation. If that happens, let's see if he's unleashed a bit more in the G-League as a way to improve his game.
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P.J. Washington: After an impressive second season, PJ fought through a very tough first half of the season. Started the preseason fighting injuries and ended up losing the starting PF spot to Bridges. Until the Harrell trade and Hayward's injury was mainly playing out of position, spending too much time as the backup center.
Once forward minutes opened and Trez filled the backup C spot, PJ flourished as the starting PF, showing all his qualities. Probably the guy that stepped up the most after Gordon's injury, PJ is the closest thing to a 2-way forward we have. Capable of stretching the floor and being a positive defender from 3 to 5 at times, PJ deserves a bigger role for the better of the organization. If that's not the case, it should be a real decision to trade or not PJ before he turns into an (expiring) RFA with limited minutes and is unhappy with his role.
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Miles Bridges: Breakout season. Miles became a borderline all-star and the 1B to Lamelo on the team priority list for the future. With his future on the line as an RFA, it seems impossible to not think of Miles in a Hornets jersey.
Outside the rather obvious decision, it should be a point of focus to think what's the best role for Miles and how to build a lineup around him and Lamelo. As an undersized PF, Miles lacks the rebounding and interior defense to reliably play the position at times. Projection his transition to SF with Miles expanding his offensive game, will demand a lesser role for Hayward and bring in the question of what's the ideal type of PF to complement the Ball-Bridges duo.
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Kai Jones: Another underutilized rookie on the rotation. Kai was obtained via trade on the draft night and it was a prospect that every report indicated that the Hornets wouldn't let go by on the draft. Even though he was a known project for 2 or 3 years, his status at the end of the bench and garbage minute players obviously frustrated a part of the fans.
He was probably the best developed rookie and the one that received the biggest attention from the coaching staff. Through his G-League campaign, Kai was unleashed and developed well through the season. It's clear the vision of him as a future member of the team. Big, long, athletic and coordinated he can become either a defensive anchor or a stretch big/lob threat in the most delusional dreams.
He's another young player urging for more NBA minutes. It'll be interesting how the center rotation will be shaped and if the FO will try to keep minutes open on purpose for Kai to occupy.
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Montrezl Harrell: Great pickup midseason, a guy with energy to hype everyone one and off the floor and a matchup nightmare for other backup centers, Trez brought to the team an interesting advantage that could be explored. As we all know, his defensive problems keep him from being a long-term fix for the center situation or being a reliable starter. Anyway, he fits the team in his current role and should stay around unless a big shuffle happens.
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Nick Richards: Played a decent role as a 10 min bench guy at first ~20 games but slowly lost his way and became a non-rotational guy. Has the size to be a backup center, but needs to at least improve his hands and defensive IQ.
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Mason Plumlee: The man with the toughest job, that he's clearly not suited for. Plumlee is a decent player but can't be playing more than 15 mpg in a team with a real center. It seems an unsustainable situation, the team should either get an upgrade at the starting spot or decrease Plumlee's minutes for the sake of playing more of the younger guys (Jones, PJ, Thor, McDaniels, maybe a 22 pick).
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Scottie Lewis: I like the fact that he's a defensive guard prospect. It seems a faraway project that he'll be able to be in the rotation but it's good that the team is using a 2-way spot to try to develop a type of player that the team badly needs.
Arnoldas Kulboka: Another type of player that it's smart to try to develop. Kubolka is closer to the NBA for his sheer ability to shoot the ball. Depending on how things play out, I can see a world where he gets some minutes or at least sits on the bench next season. For both 2-way guys though, their position isn't guaranteed. With the possibility of 3 rookies coming into the team, they can possibly lose their spot in favor of those guys.
I expect this post to receive less feedback since it's very particular to the Hornets and a tough read, but please share your view on some of the players and also, on the series as a whole. Who do you like on the Hornets? Who shouldn't be in a playoff team rotation? Who would you like your team to trade for? Who should the Hornets look to trade? Do you see any of those players far different than I do and why? The next post on the series will be about Borrego, should we keep him? Also, I'll try to talk about some general directions that the Hornets can go with their moves during the offseason.